Chest Pain

An overweight guy in a tight, white undershirt chugs a beer, gets up off his couch and starts walking upstairs. Halfway up, he gasps, clutches his chest and falls back in pain. If this were a movie scene, menacing music might swell in the background. But in real life, doctors say this image of a heart attack has led people to overlook symptoms that don't follow the stereotype - and to delay the help critical to saving their lives. "What really needs to be emphasized is that the symptoms don't have to be all that severe," said Thomas Klevan, a cardiologist in Norfolk.

A $1.8 million medical malpractice claim was paid last week following a jury's verdict in late June that a doctor misdiagnosed a 25-year-old woman's heart condition - causing her to need a heart transplant. In a trial in Newport News Circuit Court, a jury awarded to Leslie Thorne a $4 million verdict against Dr. David Glick, who works for a group of emergency room doctors who once provided services at Mary Immaculate Hospital. The judgment was later reduced to $1.8 million because of caps on medical damages in Virginia, said William E. Artz, Thorne's Arlington attorney.

Many people don't recognize all the signs of a heart attack, according to cardiologists and the American Heart Association. Time is critical: Newer treatments may be able to stop an attack in progress. Here's what you should know: Chest discomfort is common ... Crushing pain, pressure or a squeezing feeling at the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes is the classic symptom. ... but may not occur at all. Some patients - particularly women - may have little to no chest pain.

Many people don't recognize all the signs of a heart attack, according to cardiologists and the American Heart Association. Time is critical: Newer treatments may be able to stop an attack in progress. Here's what you should know: Chest discomfort is common ... Crushing pain, pressure or a squeezing feeling at the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes is the classic symptom. ... but may not occur at all. Some patients - particularly women - may have little to no chest pain.

Symptoms of a heart attack can be confused with heartburn, muscle pain, hernias, pneumonia or even the flu - by patients and sometimes even by doctors. The key, doctors said, is to take notice of any symptoms that can't be explained, especially chest pain. If there's any doubt, they quickly add, don't try to diagnose yourself. For example, if you feel sweaty and uncomfortable but have had a sore throat, fever or been around people with the flu, you probably have the flu. If you have been lifting weights and feel soreness in your chest muscles, that's explainable; if you have just eaten a hot tamale and experience what feels like indigestion, it's probably just that.

The FDA asked that it be withdrawn over concerns about strokes and heart attacks. A widely prescribed drug for severe constipation is being taken off the market after it was linked to a risk of heart attacks and strokes, federal regulators said Friday. Doctors said the voluntary withdrawal of Zelnorm by its manufacturer will leave few options for patients who suffer from a type of irritable bowel syndrome that affects about 12 million Americans -- mostly women. "This is really a sort of one-of-a-kind drug," said Dr. Bennett Roth, chief of gastroenterology at the University of California, Los Angeles, Medical Center.

A $1.8 million medical malpractice claim was paid last week following a jury's verdict in late June that a doctor misdiagnosed a 25-year-old woman's heart condition - causing her to need a heart transplant. In a trial in Newport News Circuit Court, a jury awarded to Leslie Thorne a $4 million verdict against Dr. David Glick, who works for a group of emergency room doctors who once provided services at Mary Immaculate Hospital. The judgment was later reduced to $1.8 million because of caps on medical damages in Virginia, said William E. Artz, Thorne's Arlington attorney.

The most amazing thing? Probably that only three days after it happened, Dick Van Dyke was back on the job. Pretty impressive for a guy who had just flat-lined four times in a hospital bed, causing quite a middle-of-the-night commotion on the fourth floor of Sentara CarePlex. Along the way, his emotions rode the Loch Ness Monster. First it was anger, because he had a game to get ready for. Then frustration, after his doctors wanted him to stay in the hospital overnight. Then fear, when he learned that four times during the night his heart had stopped for up to 15 seconds.

The FDA asked that it be withdrawn over concerns about strokes and heart attacks. A widely prescribed drug for severe constipation is being taken off the market after it was linked to a risk of heart attacks and strokes, federal regulators said Friday. Doctors said the voluntary withdrawal of Zelnorm by its manufacturer will leave few options for patients who suffer from a type of irritable bowel syndrome that affects about 12 million Americans -- mostly women. "This is really a sort of one-of-a-kind drug," said Dr. Bennett Roth, chief of gastroenterology at the University of California, Los Angeles, Medical Center.

The Gloucester man who left a suicide note and ditched court says he was about to surrender. Fear made him do it, Jerry Adam Belvin said in a jailhouse interview Friday. He left a suicide note and ditched a court date because he was scared. Then, when it was time to kill himself, "I got to thinking about it, and I figured, 'What would my wife say?' and I didn't do it." Belvin said he intended to turn himself in to his lawyer Wednesday and face up to gun and marijuana charges -- plus whatever the prosecutor would throw at him for missing the March 15 court appearance.

Every year during the holiday party season and especially right after Christmas, the same patients show up at local hospitals. They are people with congestive heart failure, or weakened hearts that can't pump enough blood through their bodies. And they have eaten too many salty foods, which puts even more stress on their hearts. Many are gasping for breath and have badly swollen ankles and feet. Some have abnormal heart rhythms. "It's a huge, huge problem," said Dr. Lee Butterfield, a local cardiologist.

Lois Haislip is no stranger to heart disease. Four members of her family have died of heart attacks, and an older sister uses a pacemaker to regulate her heartbeat. But when Haislip started feeling heaviness in her chest five years ago, she didn't worry about her heart. For six months, the Yorktown resident didn't complain, even when she had to stop and rest while doing the household chores she had done for years. "You really think of a man having that problem, not a woman.

An overweight guy in a tight, white undershirt chugs a beer, gets up off his couch and starts walking upstairs. Halfway up, he gasps, clutches his chest and falls back in pain. If this were a movie scene, menacing music might swell in the background. But in real life, doctors say this image of a heart attack has led people to overlook symptoms that don't follow the stereotype - and to delay the help critical to saving their lives. "What really needs to be emphasized is that the symptoms don't have to be all that severe," said Thomas Klevan, a cardiologist in Norfolk.

Lois Haislip is no stranger to heart disease. Four members of her family have died of heart attacks, and an older sister uses a pacemaker to regulate her heartbeat. But when Haislip started feeling heaviness in her chest five years ago, she didn't worry about her heart. For six months, the Yorktown resident didn't complain, even when she had to stop and rest while doing the household chores she had done for years. "You really think of a man having that problem, not a woman.

A man wanted in the shooting death of a gas station clerk in Yorktown during a robbery last weekend was arrested in Richmond early Saturday. Dennis M. Orbe was captured at 12:06 a.m. after a dramatic car chase - and then a short foot chase after he wrecked the 1988 Ford Taurus station wagon he stole in New Kent, said Richmond police spokeswoman Cynthia Price. On Friday, Orbe broke into a house on North Hairpin Drive, near the New Kent-Henrico line, according to authorities.

Symptoms of a heart attack can be confused with heartburn, muscle pain, hernias, pneumonia or even the flu - by patients and sometimes even by doctors. The key, doctors said, is to take notice of any symptoms that can't be explained, especially chest pain. If there's any doubt, they quickly add, don't try to diagnose yourself. For example, if you feel sweaty and uncomfortable but have had a sore throat, fever or been around people with the flu, you probably have the flu. If you have been lifting weights and feel soreness in your chest muscles, that's explainable; if you have just eaten a hot tamale and experience what feels like indigestion, it's probably just that.

A man wanted in the shooting death of a gas station clerk in Yorktown during a robbery last weekend was arrested in Richmond early Saturday. Dennis M. Orbe was captured at 12:06 a.m. after a dramatic car chase - and then a short foot chase after he wrecked the 1988 Ford Taurus station wagon he stole in New Kent, said Richmond police spokeswoman Cynthia Price. On Friday, Orbe broke into a house on North Hairpin Drive, near the New Kent-Henrico line, according to authorities.